This really is my favorite time of year in the Adirondacks. We’re just past Columbus Day so the bulk of the crowds are gone for the season. Don’t get me wrong, I love tourists! I had the entire Blue Ridge Road to myself with colors which can only be described as sublime. Not another car the whole way until I hit Newcomb.

I’m sure glad I made the drive to attend the event I mentioned in a previous post – Smart Actions for Real Growth. It’s been a too long since I last visited the Adirondack Museum who co-sponsored today’s symposium with Hamilton County Tourism. I always recommend the Museum as a “must-do” Adirondack activity, just go and see for yourselves.

Did you know that Hamilton County in the Adirondacks has the lowest population density out of any county in New York? Well, it’s true – 1/km² (3/mi²). I also think it may be the only county in New York that does not feature a stoplight. Interesting, right? Add the fact that most of the land is owned by the state and is “forever wild”. One would rightly assume that economic development has been and will always be a challenge there.

"These trails are constructed for motor vehicles operating at a high rate of speed" ... "The state argues that the new trails will enable DEC to close routes in the interior of the Preserve, enhancing its overall wildness."

"Public hearings are going on right now in towns and cities across New York state. In all there are a total of 102 different parcels being affected by various proposed changes, some of them major and some minor."

"How nature and the outdoors are appreciated or experienced differs across cultures. We must therefore continue to understand what people care about and why, as well as how forests are viewed, valued, and being used by our changing communities."

"The destinations presented in the media are generally so unattainable by most people that they might as well be on the moon–and don’t even bother going if you’re not wearing expensive, high-tech apparel and using modern, high-priced gear."

"The Adirondacks may be relatively young mountains, but their distinctive grey granite, anorthosite, originated 1.1 billion ago, so deep in the earth's crust that only continental collision could have formed it."

"The Tribe believes the County’s efforts to impose taxation or regulation of businesses on tribal land is not only unlawful, it creates an undue economic burden that is harmful to our community’s economic development and enterprises."

"... our legislators decided to turn it over to a sketchy non-profit corporation that is not subject to the same scrutiny under the FOIL [Freedom of Information Law] and Open Meetings Law that every other agency is."

"In my opinion, a lot of the problem is that ORDA and the Convention and Visitors Bureau don't work together, year round, for the common goal of promoting the community, for the benefit of the whole region."